What is your worship service like?
Traditional in format– upbeat in spirit. Organ music, choir, hymns, scripture readings, prayers, occasional dramas, and a relevant word from the pastor make every Sunday a celebration. It is our desire to conclude our service in an hour. We do our best to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in every service so that we don’t rush through or unnecessarily prolong our worship experience. Those who are seekers are encouraged to attend our Soul Café, which meets at 9:00AM each Sunday in Osenbach Hall. These are primarily younger folk, but all are welcomed. Soul Café is contemplating evolving into a Contemporary Worship Service and/or a Seekers Church within the larger Church.
How do I get to Trinity United Church of Christ in Telford?
We are located at 101 S Main St. in Telford, PA, 18969. Visit our directions page for a detailed map or follow this link www.trinitytelford.org/directions.
Where do I park?
Parking is easy on Sundays. There is considerable on street parking around the church and there are two parking lots behind the church, accessible from either Hamlin (off Main St.) or Washington Streets.
Where do I enter the church?
Enter through the front doors on Hamlin St. (where the sign says, “Entrance”; or, if you need a wheel chair ramp, the side entrance at the accessibility ramp on the other side of the church, on Main Street; or through the parking lot doors at the back of the building where you will see most of our friends and families arriving. The sanctuary is on the second floor and is accessible from the stair cases and the handicap ramp.
What do I do when I get there?
Greeters will usher you in the door with a smile and offer directions to the restrooms, a hot cup of coffee and the sanctuary. Ushers will greet you at the sanctuary with a worship bulletin and an invitation to sit anywhere you like—though the best seats are down front!
Will I be singled out in any way?
No. While members may share announcements about upcoming events or prayer concerns that are on their hearts (and you are welcome to share as well), you will not be called on or called out for any reason.
Will there be an offering?
Offerings are given as an act of worship for attendees who consider Trinity their home. At Trinity, we teach and believe in Biblical stewardship. For new visitors, your presence is a gift to us. We want you to be blessed by the service without feeling an obligation to give.
How often do you have Communion?
We share communion on the Holy Festival Days (Easter, Christmas, Pentecost) and at the beginnings of the major Church Seasons (Advent and Lent). Trinity celebrates an Open Table. The Spirit of the Risen Christ is our host. All persons (including children at the discretion of their families) who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are encouraged to commune.
How should I dress?
Trinity is a “come as you are” church. Jeans or ties are equally welcome.
Do you have nursery care?
Yes, for infants through 4 years. The parking lot entrance will put you right at the nursery door (at the top of the stairs to the left) where you will see immediately that we take the safety and well being of our children very seriously. Volunteer parents and members staff the nursery from 9:00-12:00 am.
What’s available for my older kids?
We believe it is important for our kids to be with us at times in the main service. Our 5-year-old to 10-year-old children begin every service in the sanctuary and, after a “Children’s Message,” go with their parents to stay or leave as they wish. Our older children and young adults are invited to remain in worship.
Is your church handicap accessible?
Yes. There is a ramp on main street at the far right front of the building. Once you enter the building through that door, go around to the right and into the sanctuary. We also have a handicapped restroom down the hall from the sanctuary.
What is your faith like?
We are a “Reformed Church” meaning that our lives are constantly being formed and reformed by experience, revelation, ancient scriptures and contemporary words. As God does new things, we grow and change and are formed into the persons God created us to be. We’re in an exciting reforming process right now and anxious to see what God will make of us next.
How are you a “Friendly Church in Telford”?
We’re not perfect—That is what we are becoming.
We do our very best to welcome everyone who comes to our church,
And, we do the best we can to involve you in something that will make you feel at home (worship, choir, Soul Café, Sunday School classes, Spirit Life, Loaves and Fishes and other new groups we are creating, and mission projects like Stitch and Study, our community gardens, and many more).
How many people go to your church?
You will see about 110 of our 400 members on any given Sunday.
My ancestors were members of Trinity. Do you have any records about their membership?
Yes; very likely. Our Historical Committee has maintained the records they have been able to locate.
Can I bring my pets?
We celebrate “A Blessing of the Animals” Sunday in the Fall when dogs, cats and other furry, finned or feathered creatures worship together in our courtyard.
Who do I contact for more information?
You can email anyone on staff with any question.
Call the church and Crystal, our Office Administrator, will answer many of your questions—215-723-3889 or email her at trinityucc1@verizon.net.
Our Sextons, Bill and Sharon Kinsey, sometimes answer the phones in the afternoons; they too can answer questions.
Pastor Greg will answer the rest—215-723-3889, or email him at pastor@trinitytelford.org.
The United Church of Christ—doesn’t that have something to do with Barack Obama?
We are a proud congregation of the United Church of Christ–a progressive, protestant denomination of 1.4 million members (of which Barack Obama was one) and 6,000 congregations around the United States and abroad. We claim the faith of the historic church expressed in ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant reformers. UCCer’s also affirm the responsibility of each church in each generation to claim and live its faith in everything we do and say. We look to the Word of God in the Scriptures and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to work its creative and redemptive will in our lives. Want to know more? Check out www.ucc.org.
How do I become a member?
Worship with us for awhile. You’ll know when you’re ready to join. When you are, just tell Pastor Greg, “I’m ready.” New member classes to help deepen contacts and connections with new friends and a new home are offered periodically throughout the year.
We’re not members—can we have our children baptized at your church?
No. In our tradition, baptism of infants and children mark their inclusion into the community of faith and Christ’s claim upon their lives. Therefore, it is important that their parents be a part of the congregation (or a congregation that we represent in the case of family or travel constraints). Both the parents and the congregation make promises to one another and to God. It is important that we be in relationship so that we can keep them.
We’re not members—can we still get married at your church?
Yes. There are several qualifications, however, including pertinent fees, pre-marital consultations, worship attendance and space-user agreements. Please contact the pastor at least one year in advance of your ceremony to discuss the possibilities of celebrating “your day” with us.
